STUDIES ON WATER DRINKING 



15. The Output of fecal bacteria as influenced by the drinking 

 of distilled water at meal time 



N. R. BLATHERWICK AND P. B. HAWK 



(Laboratories of Physiological Chemistry of the Jefferson Medical College and 



the University of Illinois) 



Introduction. The first study of bacterial growth under the 

 influence of water-ingestion was made by Fowler and Hawk (i), 

 and somewhat later a more extended study of the problem was 

 made by Mattill and Hawk (2). In the latter investigation it was 

 found that the Ingestion of large amounts (1,000 c.c.) of water with 

 meals caused the protein constituents of the food to be more fully 

 utilized as shown by a decrease in all forms of nitrogen in the 

 feces, including bacterial nitrogen. When 500 c.c. of water were 

 taken with meals no significant changes in protein utilization were 

 evident. However, the data admitted of the negative conclusion 

 that no undesirable efTects followed the water-ingestion. 



In each of the experiments mentioned, softened water (2^) had 

 been employed. The beneficial influence exerted by the drinking 

 of softened water at meal time having been indicated by these ex- 

 perimenters, the question naturally arose whether the drinking of 

 distilled water at meal time would have a similar influence. 



It has been quite generally supposed that distilled water, on 

 account of its lack of salts, would consequently have an untoward 

 influence on the processes of digestion and absorption. So far as 

 we know, no experiment to prove the truth or falsity of this belief 

 has ever been performed. 



Findlay (3) wTOte as follows concerning the influence of dis- 

 tilled water upon the tissues. "If tissues or cells are placed in dis- 

 tilled water, passage of water into the cells occurs owing to the 

 difference of osmotic pressure. The cells swell up and may finally 

 burst and die. A similar poisonous action on cells is observed when 



